Robin

Funny man. Who knew that you were so much like me, a lonely soul who struggled with darkness everyday? I'm sorry that life in this world couldn't give you what you needed. I only hope that you have now found that same peace and joy with which you blessed so many people's childhoods, including mine. Rest in peace, Robin Williams.

"Genie, you're free."

Outings (Best Friends)

Yummie Yogurt - Rochester Hills (9 August) 

• Reunited with my two best friends Di and Mo; we're finally all back home for the summer at the same time
• First stop was "frozen yo", one of Mo's obsessions
• Butter pecan yogurt + taro yogurt + Reese's peanut butter cup + blackberries
• Grabbing a bench in the courtyard; eating, catching up, and watching families play
• Filling each other in on our summer experiences (Paris intern, Google intern, senior citizen living community volunteer/intern)
• Stories about dating fiascoes and terrible supervisors
• Google adwords
• Taking 5 minutes to snap a group photo that should've taken 30 seconds; once we got it right we each had to have one on our own phones
• 11pm came around, temperature dropped, lights went off and businesses were closing, but we didn't want to go home...
• Only two out of three of us were of age, so bars were out; looked up a place open late to get some grub instead

Ram's Horn - Rochester Hills (9 August) 

• Thank God for 24 hour restaurants!
• Couldn't eat another thing; just ordered chamomile tea + honey + lemon
• Mo and Di ordered sweet potato fries and onion rings respectively; Di kept trying to push her food onto me
• "Help me eat this!"
• Chatting about boys, entertainers, and rude customers
• "I can't wait 'til you come out of your shell"
•  Dropping me off first, but stayed in my driveway listening to music and still yappin'
• "All About that Bass" + "Bang Bang" + Di introducing us to Shi Wisdom
• See y'all on Monday!

The good.

"As soon as I started to look for the good, I found it... When you seek the good in things, it will come." 

-Megan, this evening's Slow Flow instructor

Decisions, decisions

"Write it the way you feel is best."

 -Ma

Outings (Lansing)

Soup Spoon Cafe - Lansing (6 August)

• Came to Lansing for an interview; finished just in time to get here before they switched to their lunch menu
• Smoked Salmon Benedict + side of potatoes; the benedict was slappin'!
• Blues music
•  Had planned on waiting here until my friends were ready to get together as we'd discussed
• Finished and paid and was going to stay, but the waitress told me I'd probably be asked to leave due to lunch rush
• Had to find somewhere else to wait out the afternoon...

Chapelure - East Lansing (6 August)

• chapelure (French feminine noun) = "breadcrumbs"
• European and Asian pastries; flavors: mostly sweet, some bitter, very little savory
• Iced green tea (bitter)  + Asian sweet potato parfait (sweet)
• Jazz, technopop, indie, a sprinkle of chanson,  a smidgen of blues, a pinch of funk, and a dash of top 40
• Decor makes you feel like you're in someone's house; standard cafe where everyone's in their own world
• Spent the afternoon sippin' tea, people-watching and watching J-drama

Sansu - East Lansing  (6 August)

• Over 4 hours gone by and still no word from my friends, figured I'd head a few doors down and eat dinner while waiting
• Ginger salad + miso soup + shrimp and veggie tempura + Green River Roll
• Paid and left, but still no word; finally decided to just head home
• Waited all day for nothing, but discovered some excellent food around campus in the meantime

Note to self: this whole getting out thing is great and all, but I need to switch things up. Almost all of my outings so far have revolved around food, which isn't such a bad thing but... more importantly, I'm still spending the bulk of my time alone. Spending time with my friends today didn't go as planned, but I'd still like to find a way to get other people involved.

Outings: Goldfish Tea

Goldfish Tea - Royal Oak (4 August)

• A "real-deal" teahouse: loose leaves, tea pots, steeping tips/instructions, wooden furnishings, Chinese characters, the whole shebang
• So many options! And anything you could ever want to know about tea
• Too bad I was only in the mood for what turned out to be just-aight boba
• Chicken salad sandwich + boba (black milk tea, pineapple flavor, black bubbles)
• Found a spot in the back and settled in for a few hours, typing away
• Kept my earphones in the whole time, but was really listening to the 4-person young women's Bible study (?) fellowship group (?) going on across the way until they left
• It's fascinating how people talk when they don't think anyone is listening
• Quiet, open, cozy, dimly-lit space to tackle a paper that's due next week; left with 80% of it written

White Lady Can't Wait

White 40- or 50-something lady at the doctor's office this morning had apparently been waiting for an excruciating 30 minutes, and made clear to the nurse/receptionist trying to help her that she didn't appreciate that other people who'd arrived after her had been called up before her. She added, "My time is just as valuable as anyone else's" but all I heard was "You should pay attention to me NOW, because my time is actually more valuable than anyone else's, precisely because it is MINE. And, I am not accustomed to having to wait."

I'm just sitting there, pretending not to listen, thinking And?? Everyone has to wait their turn, do they not? For me it wasn't so much what she said, but the attitude she had when she said it. Like she'd been wronged and not only did everyone need to hear about it, but we all owed her something because of it. Lord have mercy. Sense of entitlement much? It's a really real thing, y'all.